The Love I Have Hoped For

The New Friend

The bar has blue and red dim lights and cigar smoke is everywhere, a place where I can never get used to. Don't get me wrong, I have been to a bar a couple of times, I have also experienced hanging out in clubs but I will never get used to such a place. I guess this place is not for me. But of course, since I am with friends, I have to pretend that I like it.

We were picked up by Mike from our workplace and we traveled for about an hour to the bar. The commute was a bit awkward. The two people sitting in front were very sweet to each other, exchanging glances from time to time while giggling, talking about how their day went. I was at the backseat, like I wasn't existing. I can't help but to be envious to Annie. She is such a lucky woman with a very cute boyfriend, something that I wish I also have. I smiled the whole time, looking like an idiot, and at times I had to pretend I was sleeping.

Anyway, the bar is quite crowded. The seats were almost all taken. We were ushered by a waiter to our table and luckily, it is located at the corner near the restroom. A few minutes later, three guys approached our table. They are Mike's colleagues and he asked them to join us in the table. Though I don't feel comfortable with it, I can't say no.

I was introduced to the three additional members in our table. They are Ben, Jason and Jeff. After a brief handshake, they were nice enough to ask me some questions about myself. I stutter every time I answer and I guess they could sense I was uncomfortable so they changed the subject.

We ordered beer and chips and since I and Annie didn't have dinner yet, we ordered sandwiches. I was smiling the whole time and was just listening to their conversation. I enjoy listening to their stories and as long as they don't ask me questions, I know I will be fine.

The band started to play songs and the place is a bit noisy that it is difficult to talk without shouting which for me is better since I don't need to talk to anyone.

After eating sandwiches, everyone is asked to drink beer. At first I tried to decline but Annie insisted and used her trick again so as expected, I couldn't resist. I am not used to drinking alcohol so I am scared that I might get drunk easily. After my first bottle, I am surprised to see that I am okay.

I didn't realized that our table is now crammed because their are three women who joined us. And everyone has now his own partner, except me of course but it is perfectly fine with me because they all seemed to be busy.

My eyes were fixed to the drummer. He seems happy playing the drums and the longer I look at him, the more I noticed how cute he is. He has expressive eyes, his lips are pinkish, he has broad shoulders and his hair looks very neat which is not common for a band member I think. He looks handsome and sexy. I didn't realize that I was just staring at him the whole time and he is also looking at me.

Yay! He is also looking at me. Am I too obvious?? What should I do?? How can I escape this situation.

I pretended I wasn't looking at him and just looked at Annie then started talking to her.

The first set is done and they stopped playing. The band members went around to say hi to the audience and thank them for coming. I became more nervous when I saw the drummer coming towards our table with a fixed smile on his face. When he arrived at our table, he said hi and gives a handshake to everyone on the table. When it is his time to exchange handshake with me, he said,

"Hi, my name is Lance Mendez. What's yours?"